


Fransweek 2020

by TheMsource



Series: Frans Oneshots [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adult Frans, All oneshots, Alternate Universe - Dancetale, Alternate Universe - Farmtale, Alternate Universe - Fellswap, Alternate Universe - Horrortale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Prison, Alternate Universe - Quantumtale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Swapfell, Amnesia, Angst, Awkwardness, Confession, F/M, Female Frisk, Firsts, Fluff, Frans - Freeform, Friendship, Gifts, I used a Rent song, It's over, Jealousy, M/M, No underage here!, Old Friends, Other, Parental Abuse, Phobias, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Protective Sans (Undertale), Romance, Seasons, T_T, Valentine's Day, done, everything else is still t, fairytale, fears, gender neutral frisk, only for chapter 6, platonic, prompts, puppy fluff, themes, undertale - Freeform, yep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:48:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22618921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMsource/pseuds/TheMsource
Summary: 1: Confession2: Fears3: Gifts4: Seasons5: Distance6: Fairy Tales7: Valentine’sCross posted to Tumblr
Relationships: Frisk/Sans (Undertale)
Series: Frans Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1636411
Comments: 84
Kudos: 101





	1. Confession

**Author's Note:**

> Another year another week to dedicate to OTP >:P  
> AU: Fellswap/Swapfell

Sans…didn’t like the way that human was looking at Frisk.

He didn’t understand why, maybe it was because she was his charge; the queen would kill him if anything ever happened to her. But it felt more than that.

His crimson filled sockets watched silently as the unknown male would do or say something that usually resulted in Frisk smiling or giggling…with a blush. 

And he remained silent and watchful, his eyelights flickering over every perceivable movement the annoying human made, simply waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop.

Sans didn’t comment on nor protest their interaction.

But how often Frisk looked as if in a daze, her head in the clouds with that irritating flow of blood staining her cheeks, Sans couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. Feel as if he should say something or maybe step in to put distance between them.

However the idea of hurting Frisk by doing so stilled his hand, like it always did.

He’d hurt Frisk so much when she’d first transversed the underground. Had been so uncaring and down right nasty to her to the point he cringed whenever he thought back on it. Sure none of the others, his ‘friends’ he supposed and even his brother, had done any better. But the thought continually plagued him.

The feeling and guilt had only gotten worse once Frisk had turned eighteen. Once she was mature enough to realize just how cruel the ones she loved actually were. 

She didn’t treat them any differently really, maybe a rebuke here or there, but still ever as kind and patient as the first day she met them; nothing but an ankle biter in a ratty worn down sweater, hair all frizzy from lack of brushing and eyes narrowed submissively.

Now a slender and well framed woman with smoothed down hair and eyes wide with the color of gold and benign in their ever present mercy she was still kind, still just as forgiving and loving no matter how badly one of them messed up.

Sans just didn’t know how far that kindness and patience would stretch if he broke whatever bond was so obviously forming between her and the mystery man. But he just couldn’t stand how close they seemed, how Frisk willingly let the guy casually _touch_ and _hug_ her as if it was nothing.

Sans couldn’t for the life of him recall having ever done either of those two things, the first not without rough handling or deep trenches carved heavily into dirt from wailing feet. 

He purposefully ignored that fact whenever he thought back on it, didn’t try to focus on it too hard. Even if it still flashed his mind when she got too close, roared her terrified screams in his head when they accidentally brushed each other.

He knew Papyrus had certainly never done those things, cruel or otherwise, had Toriel? Had anyone she called family ever offered her affectionate nonviolent contact?

He briefly wondered if the poor woman was touch starved and maybe that was her reasoning behind…the closeness Sans was being forced to witness. 

Not that he even knew what touch starvation looked like. Humans and their countless medical conditions never ceased to overwhelm and confuse him when it came up, he was still trying to reconcile the fact humans essentially replaced their skin every few weeks. 

Though how Frisk still had that tattoo she’d gotten in a fit of rebellion as a teenager on her hip confused him given the previous evidence. Even now as he watched her turn to fully face the man he could just barely catch the glimpse of a yellow petal peeking out from the hem of her shirt, a small section of a larger flower design his brother had so foolishly drawn for her.

Sans took note to insist on her buying longer clothing.

“Thanks for walking with me, I appreciate it.” Frisk’s husky feminine voice echoed. Sans watched as the young man’s eyes twinkled, clear joy at the sound of her voice showing in their pale blue depths as he ran a hand through heavily greased and slicked back blonde hair. 

He looked like a poor excuse of an extra from that movie Alphys had shown him; Grease. It did not endear him to Sans or give the skeleton any joy to have such a basis of comparison. Why was Frisk so happy around him?

“Of course, you need someone to watch out for you every now and again.” He chuckled in a pitch so high you could’ve shatter glass with it.  
It took a great deal of strain on Sans’s legendary self-control not to rain bones and terror down on the insignificant man as his words slowly sunk in like an iron weight.

Watching out for Frisk was _his_ job.

He silently seethed as Frisk almost shyly scratched a finger against her cheek, appearing humbled and touched by what Sans saw as insubordination and haughty arrogance. The small smile she wore rubbing an uncomfortable itch into his sternum.

Even he knew Frisk could watch out for herself, she’d proven that as a tiny child no more than ten with a broken stick and bared feet before their powerful and sometimes bloodthirsty king.

Honestly Sans’s job was more of a formality.

That he took very seriously.

Who was this guy to say she needed anything let alone a human, whom Sans could’ve easily squashed, trying to play guard dog?

“Uh, wow. I never really had someone do that for me. Sweet of you to say.”

… _what_?

Sans felt his joints lock in place. Taking an exceedingly deep breath he panned his eyes slowly from the human he’d been glaring at and over to Frisk, a stab of bewilderment and sour betrayal turning his eyelight briefly vibrant in a flare of agitated magic.

… **w h a t**?

It was as if she could sense his suddenly violent thoughts as her head whipped around, her eyes finally locking on him in surprise, and he could tell she had _just_ realized he was there. 

Sans was too stunned to say anything, still reeling from the casual way she had so easily and inadvertently dismissed his exact role in her life. And he was still turning over her statement in his skull, still trying to find a way in which he had misunderstood her as she waved goodbye to her friend. 

He didn’t notice she was next to him until she said something. “Sans? Are you okay?” 

His eyelights snapped to her and a scowl, furious and cynical, forced its way passed the mask he was trying so hard to keep in place so he could compose himself, not overreact like he was already doing inside the confines of his quickly spiraling psyche.

An uncomfortable silence fell between them.

Frisk squirmed in place and she looked at him in genuine concern that it almost made him feel guilty, but his anger smothered it beneath the cold echo of her words that she’d thrown out so carelessly.

“You’re never this quiet.” She whispered hesitantly.

He wasn’t. 

But he couldn’t trust himself to speak without saying something he’d only end up regretting later. Instead he turned and began walking back towards his car,his strides firm and quick with withheld resentment. 

Frisk stared after him in shock, her eyes digging into his back as she worried her lip in confusion at just how angry he looked. She hadn’t seen him this way since she had snuck out one night to go to a friend’s birthday party without permission...when she was fourteen. 

Too easily she recalled his reaction, how he’d shattered a wine glass as he’d yelled about her stupidity, the way humans liked to take advantage of each other and how she could’ve been found hurt or worse. 

Frisk...hadn’t ever wanted to see him like that again. It reminded her too much of the monster he used to be before the barrier broke. And so she couldn’t help how her feet scrambled in her mad dash to catch up with him, her heart racing anxiously at what she could’ve possibly done.

If there was once thing about Sans, it was that he never took his frustration out on the wrong people, if you had messed up you were the one to shoulder his wrath. Frisk couldn’t even try to convince herself it wasn’t her fault.

She hated upsetting him, more than simply because he was terrifying in his temper.

It wasn’t until they were both seated and buckled in, shielded from the outside world by the seal of his doors and the rich smell of leather and cologne that Frisk found the courage to push him.

“Okay seriously what’s wrong. I haven’t seen you this upset in...a long time.” She tensed as his hands gripped his steering wheel, the genuine silken leather of his gloves creaking as if they were made from some cheap synthetic under the force.

She felt a spike of worry and aged old fear shoot through her. 

Sans looked absolutely murderous as he kept his eyelights stubbornly focused on his windshield, seeing nothing in their burning brilliance. He looked more livid than he’d been a second ago, more inflamed passion in his gaze stoked from her inquiry. 

Frisk had never seen this kind of reaction from him before. 

When he finally spoke she had to resist jolting at how low his baritone went.

“you lied.” She blinked before suddenly frowning, mild offence and bafflement furrowing her brows.

“Lied?”

Sans took a very shallow and long drawn out breath through his nasal socket before panning his eyelights over to her, focusing on the way her eyes shone defiance and unspoken denial in response to his statement.

“i look out for you _all the time_.” He watched as Frisk slowly registered his words, her eyes going wide before looking down at the floorboard where her feet rubbed together nervously. 

It reminded him so much of her younger self, a blatant action that had always been her give whenever they played a card game or worked a puzzle. Did that male she’d been hanging out with know that like he did? Learned that trait by _watching_ her? Sans seriously doubted it.

He felt his rage cool but not by much as he waited for her explanation. 

What she said next though shocked him.

“You do now. Not when I really needed you.” It was like a knife had been shoved between his ribs and right into his soul. The magical leylines in his body freezing at the accusation she presented him, the sins of his past crawling on his spine. 

Sans knew right away what she meant. 

And the awful memories rush across his sightless eyelights in a blur of sickening nostalgia, instinctively swallowing even though he has no need too as guilt formed a lump in his magical throat.

He hadn’t realized just how badly he’d dropped the ball in their relationship.

“i—“ He couldn’t speak.

But Frisk could.

“I know…you feel bad about it.” His red eyelights shrunk, dimmed under her words. 

“And I don’t hold it against you. I was a stranger, the last soul you all needed. I can see how much you try every day to make up for that.” Frisk whispered, her pristine hair falling to cover her eyes just as it had when she was younger, when she’d try to hide from those she feared angering. 

It made the terrible feeling in him curl tighter.

Sans’s sockets slid shut and his tone was subdued, very quiet she almost had to strain to hear it as he let out a regretful breath. “but it’s not enough is it?” 

Her words were unintentionally cold, soft as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear nervously.

“I _needed_ you when I was ten Sans.” 

And it hurt him so much to hear that, made his bones threaten to rattle with all the sorrow that suddenly filled his soul like cruel and unyielding frost. He had regrets, he never denied it, but now all he wanted to do in the moment was go back and fix it.

Wanted to be better.

Frisk reached out with a gentle hand, the warmth from it heavy coated with her ever present mercy like a balm as it roused him from his encroaching rancor laced thoughts. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you around, that I don’t care or value everything you’ve done and continue to do for me.” 

Sans let out a short bark of dismissive laughter and looked at where her smaller hand rested on his broader shoulder. Desperately lingered in the warmth it offered him as he let her reassurance soothe the ache in his ribs. He really had messed up with her.

But yet she had above everything turned out so much better than them, cherishing and loving despite how badly the ones she loved failed her. 

Sans never wanted to fail her again.

It surprised him how much comfort he drew from the gesture, how keenly aware he became of his soul thrumming furiously in his chest from the gentle contact the longer she maintained it. Warmth and a protective longing built up in his chest.

Frisk watched in wonder as a faint pink glow broke across his skull, slowly spread over his nasal ridge and cheeks as the eyelights in his sockets wobbled around the edges. 

It was at that moment she noticed in a barely skipped heartbeat what he’d already realized earlier about their history of touch and went to hastily withdraw. 

Sans though was quicker, turned towards her and captured her retreating hand within barely a breath. The abruptness and the fact his hands were surprisingly larger than hers turned her cheeks furiously red and she looked slowly up at him with timidness that only made his blush deepen.

They both stilled as his gloved phalanges brushed against the back of it in a tentative stroke.

Sans marveled at it, how it fit so easily into his cracked and battle worn palms.

This was the hand he had seen so often extended to others even as they laughed carelessly in her face, reached out to him and his brother as wails and pleas fell from her lips and her body shook from pain, this hand had done so much and saved so many lives.

How had he never held it _once_?

Ever dared to think about doing so?

“i want to be there for you…always.” The way Frisk’s eyes widened at his abnormally fragile words made his sockets lid passionately and he added onto his statement in barely a whisper. “i can’t stand that other guy around you either.” She opened her mouth as if to protest at the quickly changed topic but he cut her off.

“it’s _my_ job to look out for you. and i can’t stand the thought of someone else trying to take that role from me.” There was a heaviness, a dark and silent promise to his words that he dared not to label.

There was so much he wasn’t saying, so much he should’ve.

Something flashed in Frisk’s honey colored eyes and slowly she smiled.

It made his magic vibrate close to how a human heart fluttered, surprised him as she showed an understanding and maturity far outweighing even his countless years of age in the simple words she said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Sans grinned, his skull still awash in magic light but his eyelights bright at how shy and forgiving she sounded. 

He looked down to where he still held her and ran another hesitant thumb against it, trying to memorize how it felt to hold a hand so pure and right. And finally albeit reluctantly he released her to start the car. A lightness to his shoulders he hadn’t felt for years.

“Hey Sans,” He glanced sideways at her. “I love you.”

By habit he went to respond, dry and teasing tone already forming before a violent lurch from his soul stole his breath. How she had said it was no different from any other time that she’d been in his life, but for some reason it hit in a way it had never done so before.

It gave him pause.

Startlingly easy clarity came to him and he silently acknowledged why he’d been so bothered by her closeness with the human earlier. Sans still vulnerable and already emotionally exhausted from their exchange could only stare at Frisk from the corner of his socket.

And it made him give a soft chuckle.

“What?” She asked in amusement.

Sans gave her a side glance before simply looking over his shoulder as they pulled out from the curb. Wayward memories of all the time they’d known each other playing in his mind’s eye, from the time she was a child to the adult she was now. How had he never noticed the changes she was bringing to those around her?

To him?

“it’s nothing.” He switched gears and smiled as he pulled forward. “i love you too.”


	2. Fears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UT Sans  
> Gender Neutral Frisk  
> Frisk is 15 so is Platonic :P

Sans was amused, highly amused.

Frisk was currently crouching on the floor, trembling like a leaf with their eyes wide and horrified.

“it’s not that bad kid.” He chuckled as he watched them let out a whimper. The sound made him feel a tad bit guilty but it really was a hilarious sight to behold.

The underground’s savoir, the small kid that had fought a soulless flower without batting an eye was brought to their knees with tears on their cheeks, shivering before a beast hardly bigger than the size of a quarter.

“It’s just a spider bucko.” Sans chortled as he stepped up beside them, eyelights locked on the small house bug as it skittered in the corner not but a few feet from the shaking kid. 

Sans paused and rubbed the back of his vertebra in confusion.

“wait, you’re friends with muffet, why are you acting this way? you seem pretty chill around her when we go to her bakery.” Frisk’s voice was tiny, hardly stable as they wrung their hands. 

“She’s not a real spider.” Sans’s sockets widened in surprise.

“heh don’t let her hear you say that pal.” Frisk hesitantly looked up at him, their bottom lip stuck out and quivering as they tried bravely to ignore the eight legged terror currently trying to scurry up the side of the kitchen wall.

“She has feelings, talks and is smart, like all the spiders underground. These though, the surface ones bite and don’t ask before crawling on you.” Sans held up a hand and snickered into it, his cheeks flushing blue from just how adorable the little tyke was being. 

Heaving a sigh he closed his sockets playfully.

“you’re right bucko, that is really rude. i think we should teach this guy a lesson and kick him out for not paying rent.” Frisk watched as Sans carefully approached the bug, his hands exaggeratedly making a show of reaching out and sweeping the bug gently into his bony palm. He turned back to Frisk with a smirk.

“behold i have captured the fiendish _spy_ der, it’ll never tell of your fear to anyone now.” Frisk perked up just enough to push to their feet, their balance wobbly as they sidestepped Sans to help lead him to the door. 

They were so scared they didn’t call out his pun? Sans was a tad disappointed.

But they were being so cautious and weary as if the spider might lunge at them from his hand that Sans couldn’t resist purposely going slow, teasing as he drug his slippers even louder and slower into the floor.

“Sans!” Frisk cried offended at what he was doing. “Hurry! Before it gets away!” 

Sans cracked a socket down at the arachnid currently lounging in his hand and snorted. “they’re not going anywhere pal trust me.” If anything the bug seemed to enjoy being held.

Frisk however puffed out their cheeks in defiance, “I don’t want you getting bit!” 

Aw, how cute.

“nah, not a worry of that here, think i’m a bit too much calcium for them.” He dismissed playfully as he opened the front door and bent down, his hand stretching out to allow the spider room to crawl out and into the grass. 

Frisk hesitantly walked up next to him, stood back slightly in the off chance they needed to dive behind him for protection, and watched with apprehensive eyes as the spider took a moment to stand in place, it’s tiny multiple legs twitching as it checked its new surroundings. 

Sans turned his skull slightly to offer a comforting smile before looking back down to see the spider suddenly and rapidly take off across the green blades, its form just as quickly vanishing as its small structure blurred into the background. 

“there, guy has a new home.” Frisk looked up as Sans stood and pocketed his hands, their face scrunching up in humiliation and shame.

“I’m sorry.” Sans turned to look at them, a tilt of his skull prompting them to elaborate on what they meant. Frisk shoveled their feet and worried their lip before sighing and running a hand through their unevenly chopped locks. 

“I know it’s just a small bug...I shouldn’t be so scared like that.” Sans’s smile dropped slightly, his sockets creasing in concern as he spoke in a gentle tone. “hey, it’s okay to be scared sometimes kid.”

Frisk shook their head and went to retort but Sans cut them off, ran a hand over their head and tangled their hair into his phalanges in both a way he knew irritated yet reassured them as he gave a gentle smile.

“everyone is scared of something frisky. so okay the tiny spider terrified you that’s perfectly fine. a fear to one person might not be a thing for another but that doesn’t make your phobia unreasonable buddy. it’s nothing to be ashamed about.” Frisk didn’t even attempt to bat his hand away like they normally did, they simply glanced up at him from beneath his palm with pleading eyes, shy acceptance of his words wanting so much to show through. 

“Are...you scared of something?” Sans tensed, his mind flashing to dust covered knives and broken hallways before coming back to reality with a shiver down his spine. 

His smile was forced but there was still honesty to it.

“yeah, in fact i get nightmares constantly over it.” Frisk stared at him curiously, their eyes almost piercing in how they observed him but Sans gave an easy shrug and withdrew his trembling hand back into a pocket before they could notice. 

His tone was purposefully measured and easy.

“so ya see? nothing to _work_ yourself up over. everyone has something to fear, even a _lazy_ bones like me.” He resisted snorting as Frisk wiggled their nose, obvious displeasure at his pun showing clear on their face even as they smiled at the word play. 

Papyrus’s influence showing plain as day in how they reacted. 

Paps was such a good influence, he was just too cool like that. 

And in a very Papyrus like fashion that reminded Sans of his brother’s babybone years Frisk shot him a deadpan, their tone dry as the desert as they snarked, “That was awful, I don’t accept this, go back and redo your paperwork.” 

Sans let out a loud and boisterous laugh, magical tears forming in the corner of his sockets at just how easily the kid had turned a joke on him. It made him so giddy to see just how much he and Tori had rubbed off on them. 

Frisk’s face lit up as they chuckled in reaction, their cheeks flushing red with pride.

Eventually Sans’s humor died enough for him to give a weak and exhausted chuckle, his eyelights bright and wide as he rested them on Frisk, a single phalanx absently wiping away a tear as another ghost of a snort slipped out.

“that was good kid, so proud.” Frisk rolled thier eyes playfully before slowly frowning. 

Sans watched them carefully, waiting to see if they were going to give voice to the thoughts he saw passing on their face before deciding to not let them linger, whatever passing thought that made their eyes temporarily darken wasn’t worth dwelling on.

“how about we go see muffet and grab some doughnuts? should help with the trauma you just endured, after all last i checked she’s not a bitter. unless you owe her money or something heh.” Frisk’s lost trance broke as they looked up at him, a small daze in their eyes that lasted until they blinked it away. Sans genuinely smiled as they shyly nodded.

“Sure, I’d like that.” 

“go get your coat then.” He watched them take off in a half sprint towards the stairs, eyelights locked on them as they leapt the top two steps and zoomed into his brother’s room before letting his smile drop into a closed frown of contemplation.

His hand came up to clutch at his chest. 

“sometimes you can be someone’s worst fear yourself kiddo.” He allowed the image of his blaster spawning to form in his mind, the way Frisk had looked so crazed one moment and then absolutely horrified the next right before he fired. 

Taking a steadying breath he closed his sockets and chuckled. Focused on how Frisk had looked so innocent and petrified before the might of something one hundredth their size. He was willing to bet the little guy had been more terrified than they had at the encounter. 

He opened his sockets and smiled fondly at the ‘family’ photo hanging on the wall by the door, all their friends gathered and looking joyous under their first touch of sunlight. “never a boring day with you around frisky.”

Hurried footsteps drew his attention back in time to spot the young teen shrugging on their coat, their hair standing up in uneven cowlicks and grinning like he was taking them on a trip out of country instead of simply down the street.

“Ready!” Sans smirked and held his hand out. 

He got the reaction he wanted as Frisk shot him an incredulous glare. “That’s the hand you held the spider in! NO!” 

It was also the same hand he’d had in their hair but he decided to show mercy and not mention it, instead simply said ‘my bad’ and switched hands. The moment their palm laced with his he gave them an affectionate squeeze and winked.

Frisk raised a brow.

“ _this_ was the hand i touched the spider with.” Their mouth fell open, a loud cry of protest on the tip of their tongue before Sans snickered and pulled them through a shortcut.

His soul pounding with just how much he adored the easily gullible kid.


	3. Gifts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Female Frisk  
> AU: Farmtale
> 
> I tried to use the canon Korean names so just in case anyone needs to know them I wrote them out ^^; Everyone’s name should be taken with salt due to translation except for Sans and Papyrus! XD Couldn't figure out Chara's other than it means lantern <_<
> 
> Saejun - Sans,  
> Pilsu - Papyrus,  
> Dain Yun - Undyne,  
> Daedong - Mettaton,  
> Simmari - Grillby,  
> Doria - Toriel,  
> and Asriel is Sungnye

Saejun gnawed at his wheat, his eyelights locked on Frisk as she awkwardly chuckled at Dain Yun’s gift, the blue fish monster raving about the new basketball she’d just given her. 

Saejun had been debating for a long time exactly what gift to get her. It wasn’t every day someone reached adulthood after all, and humans having a shorter lifespan than monsters it was a really big deal. 

However Saejun hadn’t exactly managed to think of a darn thing.

And he’d had a few months to figure something out.

Feeling slightly awkward he panned his eyelights over to Pilsu, his taller brother smiling wide and dopey as he handed Frisk his gift of many squashes and eggplants. The way the kid--no the young adult’s eyes lit up at the offering brought such warmth and joy to Saejun’s soul he nearly bit his stalk in half.

He probably should’ve gotten Frisk some crops too, she’d always loved Saejun’s potatoes and carrots. Honestly Frisk was so in love with the whole concept of farming she might as well have just moved in with the skeleton brothers with how often she was over.

That...didn’t help Saejun’s guilt.

“Thanks Pilsu, I was hoping the spaghetti squash was going to be done in time!” Frisk proclaimed with a grin wide enough to rival the sun. Pilsu smirked as he struck a pose, his flower printed kerchief billowing around his neck dramatically with his hand on his chin.

“WHY OF COURSE, DID YOU THINK THE TALENTED AND HARD WORKING PILSU WOULDN’T DO EVERYTHING TO MAKE SURE HIS BEST FRIEND GOT WHAT THEY LOVED MOST?” Pilsu’s smirk quickly dropped into a deadpan. “WHEN THEY’RE NOT BUSY SNEAKING CROPS WITH SUNGNYE AND CHARA.” 

The mayor’s son at least had the decency to look ashamed, the poor younger goat’s face breaking into a blush while his adopted sibling merely frowned. Saejun could see a literal sweat drop run down the side of Frisk’s head as she grimaced awkwardly on the callout.

“Yeah...sorry?” Saejun snickered and waved a hand dismissively.

“nah, is all good. we know you dun ate what you took at least.” So long as the food wasn’t wasted that was all Saejun personally cared about. Speaking up turned out to be his downfall though as Chara smirked and gave him a devious glance.

“So what did _you_ get Frisk?” Saejun’s throat closed up and he sent a silent prayer of gratitude to whatever controlled the universe that his smile didn’t falter. He glanced over at Frisk and at the expectant look in her eyes felt a shiver of anxiety go down his spine.

Well great.

He couldn’t just let her down now after being put on the spot like he was. So Saejun did the first thing he could that came to mind. 

Delay the inevitable.

“it’s a surprise for later.” The round of questioning looks somehow made the situation feel worse. Chara raised a brow and rolled his eyes with a derisive snort, tempted Saejun so much into bending the brat over and giving him a spanking that’d smart for weeks. 

Until he noticed how red Frisk’s cheeks were.

His sockets widened.

Why did she look so nervous?

“Anyway,” Daedong drawled awkwardly with a flip of his mechanical hair. “I got you a guitar, for your fabulous debut if you ever come into the city to perform with me.” Frisk let out a sharp gasp as the robot held out the shiny object. It’s body an amalgam of glossy red and pearlescent texture. 

Saejun frowned at the implication. Frisk had never shown an interest in music let alone trying to become a rockstar like Daedong was set on being. Still something didn’t sit right in his ribs as Frisk stared down at the instrument with both awe and adoration. 

Ebott was a small village, barely anything ever exciting happened here sure.

But was that enough to lure Frisk into city life?

Saejun felt his nonexistent gut plummet. 

Frisk though was giddy as could be, her hands reverently running over the generous gift with a small smile that wouldn’t leave her face. She hadn’t expected such extravagance for her eighteenth birthday. Hadn’t thought everyone would be so insistent on celebrating it.

It was almost hard to believe she’d gone from being a constant nuisance to everyone with her gang leader antics as a kid to someone so obviously loved and cared for. 

Her cheeks burned hotter as she looked up shyly towards Saejun, the skeleton’s eyelights faraway in their gaze as he stared at the far wall. The only thing that kept her from questioning the whole thing was how his wheat bobbed once, a sign that he was still paying attention.

She’d gotten to know his tics and habits so well. Still though she was left wondering what gift could be such a surprise that he couldn’t simply give it to her in front of everyone. Was it something he was hesitant on? Something that he thought she might find embarrassing?

Was it a…

Okay so she’d had a small crush on the farmer since she was a kid but that didn’t mean anything. It wasn’t as if Saejun would suddenly show interest simply because she had turned another year older.

Right?

When the party finally began to wind down, everyone giving Frisk fond farewells and hugs goodbye, Saejun began to feel his soul pound and sweat bead his forehead. He still hadn’t thought of a single thing for her.

What was wrong with him?

It wasn’t this hard to come up with something for Pilsu!

“Thank you for indulging us my child.” Doria remarked as she ran a hand over Frisk’s head in motherly affection. Her honey colored eyes lit up happily as she held her hand to Doria’s far larger paw, her tiny human fingers only managing to cover one of the larger monster’s digits. 

“Thank you for the party mom, I really appreciate it.” Doria let out a soft chuckle before casting a glance towards the skeleton brothers, Frisk’s nerves rising at the frown that curved the older monster’s face. Frisk was expecting this now that she was technically an adult and already knew what her mother was about to say.

“My dear, are you sure you should be staying--”

“It’s fine! Nothing bad will happen, I mean.” Frisk fought not to blush but failed as she swallowed around the knot in her throat. “Nothing’s going to change just because I had a party right?”

The look Doria gave her was dubious but she reluctantly relented. “Yes, I suppose so. If you need me at all please give me a call my child.” 

Frisk didn’t know she was holding her breath until the screen door swung shut behind her mother’s retreating back, air coming into her stinging lungs so forcefully she had to cover her cough with an awkward laugh.

“So, what’s for dinner?” She tried to sound casual as she turned back to Pilsu and Saejun.

“I WAS THINKIN’ SOME OF THAT SQUASH YOU WERE CRAVIN’, WITH PEAS.” Out of all the crops Frisk hated peas the most but chose to smile anyways.

“Sounds good ‘Su.” 

“yeah, sure does. hey i have to go and check on somethin’, why don you two get on in de kitchen and i’ll be back right quick.” Frisk and Pilsu both eyed Saejun suspiciously, the former furrowing her brows at the odd behavior. Usually Saejun would be the first one to start cooking, maybe napping after such a large gathering. 

Not going out somewhere.

“Are you sure?” Frisk questioned and Saejun gave a wide and lazy smile. “yep.” 

Her and Pilsu exchanged a look but gave in to his request thankfully. Saejun waited to make sure he heard the tell tale banging of pots before he took a shortcut and spawned into the middle of his vineyard. 

He knew Frisk loved grapes, and she had met him when he’d been harvesting the vines so there was going to be some meaning and nostalgia behind the small berries that he thought she’d appreciate.

Saejun wished he hadn’t been lazy that year and skipped out on storing any. Frisk probably would’ve loved his homemade wine now that she was old enough to have some.

Heaving a sigh he slowly made his way down the first row, his glowing eyelights illuminating each bushel he passed in the growing darkness with scrutiny. The longer he walked, finding each one he examined somehow disappointingly too flawed to offer, he started to drift. 

Why had Frisk blushed the way she had?

Was it possible she still had that innocent crush on him? 

He gave a snort and shook his head fondly, stopping to cup an interesting group of mixed green and red grapes as he chuckled. He supposed there were signs she was still interested in him. If he didn’t know for a fact Doria would have his dust he might’ve considered it now that she was mature enough to understand such things.

Saejun frowned as he let the grapes swing back against their vine, one of them having been nibbled on by some pest. He was going to have to re-sterilize the field in the morning.

“well, ain’t i up a creek without a darn paddle.” He groused. 

He wasn’t going to be able to give Frisk anything. Wow, he never thought he’d be angry at himself for being lazy of all things. He worked so hard at that it was shocking.

Slowly he turned and lamented his luck. 

He knew out of all the monsters, Frisk had looked up to and adored him the most, second only to his brother. She had never wasted a chance to come over to visit, took every opportunity to go out to Simmani’s when he offered, and even worked the fields simply to be near him...rather he was dozing or not.

He of all people shouldn’t have been the one to fail in finding her something, the mere idea made a tightness form in his magic leylines at the mental picture of her disappointment. 

Maybe he could do something for her later to make up for it?

But he really wanted to do just as the others had done. Wanted so badly to see her smile and light up like a thousand walt light bulb in glee. If there was anyone who deserved to have such happiness it was the homeless little girl Doria had taken in, the kid who had blossomed into such a beautiful woman Saejun was willing to bet would have legions of monsters falling over just to hold her hand.

The darkness lit up with the ethereal shine of his green magic.

He...could give her something she maybe still wanted…

If she still wanted it that was.

Frisk was giggling as Saejun spawned into the kitchen, her hands pulling bits of meat out of her hair as Pilsu whined about the tenderizer coming apart midswing. 

This was why Saejun liked to prepare everything, Pilsu got just as enthusiastic about cooking as he did farming.

“frisk darlin’ can i see you a minute?” Her cheeks instantly flushed at the nickname as she looked over at him. They’d always done that, brightened gentle pink in her reserve whenever he called her something, but tonight he found himself proud of the reaction. 

Maybe his idea was going to go over well after all.

“Be right back.” Frisk chuckled with a pat to Pilsu’s arm. Seajun’s brother raised a knowing brow that had the shorter monster pulling his straw hat over his head to hide the surge of green across his cheeks. 

“DON’T TAKE TOO LONG OR DINNER WILL BE EATEN WITHOUT YOU.” Pilsu’s tone was amused. Frisk’s playful groan earned a laugh in response just as she grabbed Saejun’s hand.

In a blink they were alone, back where Saejun had been previously in his maze of berries and leaves. And just as quickly Saejun found his soul thrumming like a hummingbird’s wings as Frisk looked around curiously.

“So am I about to get my surprise now?” She teased.

“yeah, if dats what you want dat is.” Saejun responded as she looked back at him expectantly.

Frisk waited for him to hand her something, maybe offer a joke or two. 

She wasn’t expecting the way his sockets lidded or how slowly his hand came up to pluck the ever present stalk from his perpetual grin. 

Her heart rate picked up as he casually flicked it away and her ears were burning as he shoved both his hands in his pockets. Saejun looked completely relaxed and his grin was sly as he tilted his head, “still want dat kiss you dun asked me for a while back?”

Frisk’s lungs seized in her chest and her mouth opened and closed multiple times as words formed and simultaneously vanished in her panicked excitement. She’d asked him for that when she was sixteen and he’d had the gall to tease her before giving a chaste press of his teeth to her forehead.

And now he was offering her a real one.

It’d be so cruel if he was joking.

“R-really?” His smile stretched but he didn’t answer her. Frisk swallowed hard and slowly took a step closer to him. Only when she hesitated did he let out a chuckle that was so low and amused she swore she could feel it vibrate into her skin. 

“gotta get closer dan dat darlin’.” Saejun whispered. 

He didn’t move, didn’t shake an inch as she stubbornly willed herself close enough that he could touch her nose with his nasal ridge if he so wished. It was darned cute how nervous she was. 

Saejun closed his sockets and tilted his head up, “come an get it.” Instead of the snort he expected at the playful jab he felt her lips press into his teeth. 

And his soul erupted into a plethora of shimmering light. 

Frisk let out a small gasp in shock at the sudden flare but Saejun gently captured her shoulders and returned the kiss, his bony lips closing and locking with hers.

Frisk stilled, her mind in a daze as her heart hammered in her chest. Warmth spreading to her fingertips and hair line as her skin turned tomato red. 

Saejun was kissing her!

Her first kiss...and it was so much better than she’d ever imagined.

Too soon he pulled back and Frisk still on a pleasant high giggled childishly. Saejun joined her with a soft chortle of his own before leaning back in close enough to kiss her again if she wanted it, his tone content and happy.

“happy birthday frisky.” She grinned.

“Thanks Saejun.” She looked down thoughtfully before grinning mischievously at him. “I’m glad you forgot my present.” Saejun’s sockets went wide, magical sweat automatically beading his forehead.

“frisk i’m so sorry--” She shut him up as she kissed him again, twined her arms around his shoulders and let out a happy hum as he hesitantly returned the embrace. This was the best gift he could’ve ever given her.

And she was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The vineyard thing was a bit of a personal nod to my friend Lunahars and a conversation we had :P


	4. Seasons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Female Frisk  
> AU: Dancetale
> 
> You know what this means >:3  
> SONG FIC!!!!
> 
> Rent [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJIlHuMLOkE) too!

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes_

Frisk was a surprise when Sans first met her. A curious child to whom he never knew would come to mean so much to him. Not only inspiring in the way she danced but in the way she smiled fearlessly, forgave unconditionally. 

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear_

To Sans, Frisk was everything that embodied the good and potential in humanity. Every minute and second she could she dedicated to practicing her craft, to perfecting the ability to resonate and bond with those around her.

Frisk never asked for anything in return, never blamed or condemned a single soul when she was wronged. Even when Sans knew that someone deserved the sting of karma she was always there with her hand outstretched and pose ready.

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes_

He never understood how someone so young could be so mature and understanding of others faults and flaws. When Sans looked at Frisk it was as if he was seeing a grown woman, too many years to be within her tiny statue. 

But at night when she’d visit, danced as if no one was looking that’s when he’d see the tears. See the complete and utter heartbreak of a child wanting nothing other than to be loved and accepted. It made him protective, made him take her under his wing.

_How do you measure, measure a year?_

“Dance with me?”

“not yet.”

“When?”

“heh, when you can keep up kid.”

_In daylights, in sunsets_  
_In midnights, in cups of coffee_

She endlessly practiced. Never stopped until she tired herself out and all with an excitement he hadn’t seen since Papyrus was a babybones. Often he’d go out to her with a thick blanket and hot chocolate, run his hand playfully through her hair to earn breathy giggles that warmed his soul in the purest way.

_In inches, in miles_  
_In laughter, in strife_

As days began to blend together Frisk still danced, still worked so hard to impress him and those of their friends. The only thing that changed was how stubborn she turned. She grew her talents in leaps and bounds but Sans started to clash with her, she never stopped, never rested.

“Dance with me?”

“no.”

“Why?”

“if you can’t listen, you’re not ready.”

_In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes_  
_How do you measure a year in the life_

The day she broke the barrier Sans had been shocked. He’d stood with his sockets wide as the sunlight filtered down and engulfed her like a fiery halo. Frisk’s hair once so short and unevenly bobbed had lengthened, turned vibrant and smooth. She’d grown tall enough he had to tilt his head the slightest inch to look at her.

And when Frisk had turned towards him and the others beside him, had held her battered hand out with golden eyes that hadn’t ever changed he’d felt a twist deep inside of him. 

_How about love?_

“Dance with me.”

“no.”

“Why!?”

“...i’m not ready yet.”

_How about love?_

Sans had missed it. He hadn’t realized she’d aged and had turned into an adult under his and Pap’s care. Hadn’t seen the way she acted differently the older she grew to the blankets and chocolate, how she became shyer and even more determined just from him watching her.

_How about love?_

Looking at her now it was as if the blinders had been removed. The filter her youth had provided shattered in the wake of gentle glances and feminine chuckle as his hand took hers.

He wondered when he’d truly fallen for her.

_Measure in love_

When had they both fallen for each other?

_Seasons of love_

It was spring when they’d been freed. It was spring that he found himself noticing the way she blushed around him, her flush deep enough to rival his own as she ran through the warm sunlight and flowers around her, Papyrus and everyone in pursuit after her with laughter filling the air.

_Seasons of love_

It was summer the first time he’d gotten her a gift with any special meaning behind it. Not long after monsters acceptance by humanity that he gifted her a bracelet carved from jade and set with moonstone, his magic flowing through it as he gave the first kiss he’d ever given her to the forehead. 

Frisk’s eyes wide and cheeks rosy as she all but leapt into his arms gratefully.

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes_  
_Five hundred twenty-five thousand journeys to plan_

They traveled, never stayed in one place too long as they explored the world around them. Frisk and Papyrus always somehow ending up in dancing competitions, Frisk and Sans always going to eat and looking at museums with Tori, Undyne and Alphys constantly in some embarrassing situation by Frisk’s ever growing plots to make them finally kiss.

_Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes_  
_How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?_

At night it was just the two of them. In the dark of the moon they both smiled and joked, teased and scoffed together with hardly a care in the world. Sans watching the way her eyes sparkled with mischief while Frisk noticed the way his sockets would lid in affection.

Taking silent moments to simply look at and appreciate each other.

_In truths that she learned_

Frisk learned quickly why he couldn’t stand dancing, how each step and wayward bend would send unspeakable pain into his soul as it reminded him of hopelessness and loss. His hands always clutching at his chest if he so much as stared too long at a stage, always out of sight of the others.

_Or in times that he cried_

There were times Frisk would find him alone. Head bowed and shoulders hunched as he quietly wept and lamented some great secret, one that every time she asked he’d push away and fall silent. Frisk would offer him mercy by holding him, never pushing beyond what she’d been denied until he fell asleep against her shoulder.

_In bridges he burned_

Sans would find her in similar conditions, her hair matted from between clenched fists and eyes wide as she’d hyperventilate. Soundless echoes of forgiveness for every sin she’d ever committed falling from unintelligible lips. His brother’s name and countless others listed off enough to the point he’d shake her almost violently to break her trance.

The whole thing reminding him far too much of his own father before he’d gone mad.

_Or the way that she died_

Frisk looked at him in shock each time it happened, begged his forgiveness for actions that weren’t her own but anothers. And Sans would only still and stare at her with tears in his sockets, his hands framing her face and brushing her hair back as he’d press a chaste kiss to her forehead with gentleness.

His own words pleading the same thing against her clammy skin.

_It's time now to sing out_  
_Tho' the story never ends_

The best moments were always shared with those they called family. The worst experiences always erased out of desperation until Frisk couldn’t anymore.And that only made each day that much more precious, that much more fulfilling as Sans held and hummed sweet nothings to her.

“Dance with me.”

“soon.”

_Let's celebrate_  
_Remember a year in the life of friends_

Undyne and Alphys wedding was glamorous, huge and filled with countless applause and cheers. Frisk and Papyrus both sniffling while Sans chuckled humorously, looked over and contemplated Frisk in a wedding dress softly. 

Tori and Asgore both reunited, advanced monster rights to true equality while at the same time renewed their bond vows with promises to never repeat their mistakes. Frisk watching as she thought on the idea of a bonding ceremony and hearing the way Sans let out a sigh so subtle at the display only she caught it.

Papyrus moved out to be with Mettaton. Much to Sans ire and Frisk’s shipping habit.

Sans and Frisk however were both left to examine each other, their gazes locked and souls pounding as they closed the distance and shared their first true kiss.

Uttered the words love for the first time.

_Remember the love_  
_(Oh, you got to, you got to remember the love)_

Every moment between them Sans loved. Even the ones he hated and left him shaking.

_Remember the love_  
_(You know that life is a gift from up above)_

Every interaction Frisk committed to memory. Relived them no matter if they broke her or not.

_Remember the love_  
_(Share love, give love, spread love)_

They cried and laughed through all their fights and reconciliations, spun each other in greeting with thick chortles and happy hums when returning to the other, always supported each other in whatever it was they wished to do. 

Frisk wanted a dance studio, Sans helped fund it.

Sans wanted a family, Frisk more than offered it to him.

_Measure in love_  
_(Measure, measure your life in love)_

“Dance with me.”

“okay.”

_Seasons of love_

It was Fall when Sans finally Proposed, his hands shaking and her eyes rolling at the cheesy dance pun he’d used as he’d held her hand out to him. Sans had lingered, his eyelights hazing as he recalled years ago that same hand being held out. With a profound happiness he hadn’t ever known he’d slid the ring onto her finger and had kissed her hand so fervently they’d both flushed.

It was still Fall when they’d gotten married and had started on the road to their lives together.

Fall was also the season that he’d lost her.

_Seasons of love_

Sans could still remember asking her to meet him at the studio, to finally dance like he’d promised, could still hear the sound of the gunshot that stole her if he closed his sockets tight enough. 

It was Winter when the funeral was held. Their twins, son and daughter both at his side as he’d stared at nothing. The falling of the snow permeating a chill he hadn’t been able to feel before given his nature. 

He’d wanted nothing more than to join her that night, ketchup in hand and soul already on the verge of falling down as the bedroom door to his children’s room had shyly opened.

“Daddy?”

She looked so much like her mother.

“...yes pumpkin?” 

Her golden eyes tinged with blue showed with familiar mercy.

“I love you.”

Sans glanced over to the mantle, his eyelights landing on the photo of Frisk and him with their new born children and how radiant she looked. Her smile wide and the light of her soul shining through her gaze. 

He took one last swig and stood, cradled his daughter into his arms before pressing a kiss to her forehead. His smile was soft as he relented that he still had a job to do, something to keep Frisk happy as she waited for him.

“i love you too...why don’t i show you how to dance tomorrow?”

_Measure your life, measure your life in love_


	5. Distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Female Frisk  
> AU: Horror/Prison  
> I was a bit out to sea on what to think for this prompt ^^;  
> So I blended Horror/Prison AUs  
> Hope it's not too bad

Humanity was cruel, crueler than any of the monsters or Aliza had anticipated. No sooner had they broke surface then the humans had sent their armies, boxed them in and started making demands and shooting any creature that so much as quivered in fright.

Sans had been enraged, had shouted in bitterness as monsters that had finally been granted freedom, hope, were reduced to nothing but insignificant piles of dust. He wasn’t the only one to voice his anger and grief, many had called out and condemned the soldiers that didn’t so much as blink an eye to the abused and neglected monsters.

They had barely cared for Aliza. Would have mowed her down along with the others that were falling if he hadn’t stepped in. Through it all they were mocked and degraded barely even acknowledged with their ability to speak and rationalize.

It was when they’d nearly shot Papyrus that Sans had snapped, unleashed a hail of bones and searing light into the gathered forces to the point that the human’s leader had finally decided to intervene. 

Had accepted that the monsters couldn’t just be wiped out and swept under the proverbial rug.

No one was fooled however when he spoke of peace and rehabilitation. It wasn’t hard for Sans to see the lies and sins crawling on the man’s back like a swarm of ants. The so called president just wanted to lock them away, forget about them and maybe tear them apart for research. 

If Sans had cared more it would’ve broken his heart to see his fellow monsters all so readily agreeing. For what was further imprisonment so long as there was something to eat. So long as they could see daylight and never have to worry about another cave in or earthquake again. 

Right away Sans had been the first one taken, his display of magic too tempting for the humans not to go after him first. It was a blessing that they let his brother stay with Aliza, a false mascot for the secondary race once they were deemed acceptable to go out into society. 

He knew he’d never see his brother again. 

But so long as he was safe that’s all Sans had cared about.

Aliza had looked so broken and torn as they had been led away, shouting how she’d fix everything as the doors to a jeep had slammed in her face. He wanted so badly to believe her, to hold out hope that she could sway the humans just as she had done with him.

That had been six months ago.

And already Sans had lost hope.

He’d stopped feeling anything after the first week, his mind going gratefully catatonic as he’d been experimented on and prodded, reality nothing but a vague shade over his thoughts. 

After two weeks he started to get hungry again even as he was regularly fed, his sanity starting to break down thanks to the isolation they forced him into. Briefly he’d wondered where they’d gotten the technology for magic suppressant cuffs, the thick and oversized twenty pound weights dragging heavy against his bones, but had quickly dismissed that with a starved growl.

The end of his first month in is when he’d finally snapped and had taken a bite out of the current doctor sent to test and question him. 

That’s when they’d muzzled him. 

Sans hated this.

Hated how life was going.

But he wanted all so badly to taste it again.

And it was a sweetly unique scent that drew his attention, lured his gaze like a dog to meat as his red eyelight bulged and flared with ruby light. His gaze landed on a uniformed guard, a woman well curved and thick with auburn locks and eyes barely open as she greeted the men standing before his iron doored cell.

Sans felt instantly drawn to her.

He watched silently as she exchanged some kind of paperwork, her smile wide and friendly as she laughed at something one of his guards had said. She had a sense of humor. Why did that please him so in a way that was reassuring and oddly nostalgic?

“Okay big guy,” Sans’s gaze snapped down as a small slot slid open. “You know the drill hands out. Miss Aiuto here is going to escort you to your psyche eval.” 

His eyelight panned up to peer through the window at the blonde man who responded with a snort. “Yeah I don’t know why they keep giving them to you either.” 

At least there was one human that didn’t beat around the bush.

The new guard was so timid. Sans could literally see her hands trembling as she held the cuffs up expectantly. He didn’t blame her, he already looked horrifying to begin with and could only wonder at how he currently looked bound up in a loose straight jacket and mask right out of Hannibal Lecter.

He would have laughed at the irony of that joke if he wasn’t sure they’d put him in isolation again.

Slowly he raised his arms and slid his wrists through the slot, taking note of the small vein in her throat throbbing wildly as she took a very abrupt and tiny inhale through her teeth. Interestingly enough he didn’t smell fear coming off of her.

Sans smelled buttercups and cinnamon.

It bizarrely relaxed him.

Sans stared as she hesitantly cuffed him, an itchy feeling in his skull right near where the gap lay as if he was trying to remember something. But no matter how hard he concentrated he just couldn’t recall for the life of him why her golden eyes stirred a feeling of familiarity.

She looked up wearily as both the guards started speaking to each other and lowered her voice, her eyes demurely fluttering in strained anxiety.

“Do you remember me?” She asked in a whisper. 

Her words caused Sans’s soul to give a violent lurch both bitter and sweet, that stole the air from his nonexistent lungs. Her eyes widened as he let out a growl, his words muffled beneath the mask chained around his skull. 

“should i?”

She looked slightly disappointed but offered a humble smile that made a blush stain his skull. He was suddenly glad for the cover the mask provided as she tried again to speak quietly to him.

“It’s me, Frisk.”

Something...made him so _angry_.

And worried.

 _Happy_.

But he couldn’t figure out _why_.

Frisk felt her heart threatening to erupt from her chest as she watched the formerly smaller skeleton tense, the single red eyelight that had replaced two floating white ones shrinking to the size of a pinprick as sweat beaded his forehead. He looked as if she’d accidentally pushed him into an episode. 

Frisk held her breath as she glanced back at the guards. They were both still busy talking about the upcoming holidays and didn’t look as if they were paying the both of them the least bit of attention. She looked down at where his skeletal hands still rested and tentatively slid a hand down to hold one.

His grip was instantaneous and tight like a bear trap on her small wrist. 

She hissed through her teeth to steady herself and panned her eyes up to Sans’s suddenly bloated and wide socket, the ghost of a crazed smile peeking through the bars on his muzzle down at her. 

She closed her eyes and forced her voice out calmly. “I’m here to protect you, Aliza is only a week away from getting monster rights pushed through. Everyone was worried about what that would mean for you.”

Sans felt honest intent pouring off of her and it helped. Slowly he calmed and loosened his hold on her, his phalanges experimentally rubbing into the soft flesh of her hand in what he hoped was soothing as he let out a ragged breath.

“thanks.” 

Their gazes locked and there was such deep sorrow and regret in her sun tinted eyes.

“It’s funny...we’re right next to each other after all these years but...it feels like you’re so far away.” San’s eyelight swelled and Frisk didn’t know what it meant only that it made her cheeks sting. 

She let out a shy chuckle. “I’m happy to see you again Sans.”

“me to.” The response was automatic. Sans didn’t know why he’d said it. 

Frisk seemed to light up, a dazzling glow coming from her soul that only Sans could witness with joy and hope. She rubbed a thumb into the back of his metacarpals, made his magic warm up affectionately from the gentleness of it and gave him a wink.

“We’ll get you out of here. Make no bones about it.” Sans felt it the moment his eyelight wobbled and shifted, the shape of it diluting and flipping into an inverted heart that he quickly blinked away. Not before Frisk had noticed though the guards interrupted her before she could comment on it.

“Hey! We’re ready to take lunch, you good over there?” Frisk swallowed thickly as she pushed the feeling of butterflies in her stomach down and could only nod. Both the guards exchanged a confused look but shrugged it off. 

The blonde guard gave a dismissive snort as he unlocked Sans’s cell and then promptly turned on his heel. Both he and his buddy leaving Frisk to handle the situation alone. She would’ve jumped for joy at how easy this whole thing was going but the moment she turned back around from watching the guards abandon her she locked up.

Sans had in seconds covered the distance that had been between them and now stood where her nose nearly touched the ribs of his chest. Her ears started to ring from the close proximity and she took a slight step back, the scent of permafrost and iron overwhelming her as it came off of him in waves.

He hadn’t always smelled like that, Frisk could recall the sweetness of ketchup and detergent when she’d cuddle up beside him in her youth, the way he sounded like a mower as he snored. 

Sans looked so different now.

But the smile he suddenly offered her was just as charming and sly as it had always been.

“nice joke. really _rib_ eting.” Her snort was cute.

“I learned from the best. Paps says hi by the way.” His smile was genuine.

Suddenly it didn’t feel as if they were so far apart, Frisk was determined to watch over him now just as he’d done for her once upon a time.

Sans felt his hope reignite.


	6. Fairy Tales

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU: ???  
> Female Frisk  
> This was just a thought I had that tried to become more than a one shot  
> Wanted to give it a fairy tale vibe and idk ^^;  
>  **TW: Parental Abuse** \- Nothing explicit but still do not read if you can't handle it  
> This has boosted the fic's rating as a whole but **only this one will be M**

Frisk was crying, her hands shaking and body numb.

A new purple bruise forming already on her arm, just above her elbow. Deep down she knew she’d probably deserved it, but it didn’t make the shock or sting any less.

She sniffled as she walked, her eyes staring at nothing as her thoughts roamed. Frisk didn’t have a destination in mind nor a goal, she just let her feet carry her aimlessly further and further from her house. She only wanted a break, a place to gather herself.

That’s when she saw it.

The trees parted ahead, a small trail of shorter grass among chest high fauna that led away into what looked like a brightly lit alcove. 

Frisk stilled as she stared at it. 

Had it always been there? How far had she wandered from the village? 

She glanced back behind her and contemplated returning but loud shouting still echoed in her head. How seething rage made her ears ring had Frisk swallowing nervously.

Exploring a little longer wouldn’t hurt her.

What could go wrong?

Steeling her racing heart Frisk turned curiously to the path and pushed ahead, her eyes wide and observing as the fauna gradually grew contrasted and vibrant the longer she walked. Dulled greens shifted into brighter almost yellow shades and purples turned nearly cyan, the coloring giving an almost glass like effect that glimmered in the shaded light.

She stopped next to a plant that looked suspiciously like a sunflower, the petals giving a slight tingle to her fingertips as she lightly grazed the almost translucent edges. 

She sucked in a breath as tiny tendrils wisped out and curled, almost latched onto her in a feather light caress. Blinking as she realized how bizarre that was she leapt back, hissing through her teeth as the tendrils seemingly dissolved at the loss of contact. 

Frisk stood there dumbly staring at the seemingly innocent plant.

Shaking her head she decided to continue forward, her feet pressing into soft icy blue moss until she entered a wide open space. 

Right away her eyes panned the perimeter. 

There were tightly packed and thick trees forming a perfect circle that even a sheet of parchment would struggle to slip through, the only entrance or exit she could perceive being the path she’d taken, and not a single blade of grass appeared uneven in length.

It was calming.

Taking a hesitant step forward her eyes slipped down to a small pond perfectly situated towards the center but fading off into the treeline. Its crystal clear water, so pure that she could see the bottom swarming with plentiful fish and ivy, shimmered hypnotically beneath the small rays of light that pierced the trees canopy overhead.

But that wasn’t what had her attention..

It was a ring of mushrooms.

Pure gold and in perfect formation it sat precisely center and in front of the water’s edge, no other plants or weeds to be seen in the clearing aside from it. 

As if entranced Frisk walked slowly closer, pausing as she noticed the grass at its center glimmered with a rainbow tinted light, refracted colors both alluring and mesmerizing dancing across the space big enough that she could lay in it with no problem. 

It did look inviting, the perfect circle comforting to gaze at as if it was a golden wall against anyone that would try to harm her. 

The thought of stepping in for a nap briefly flitted across her mind.

Her brows furrowed at how quickly she’d contemplated such a thing.

She...didn’t feel too safe suddenly looking at it.

The circle was so otherworldly and strange it gave her a sense of cautious foreboding. 

She glanced around the beautiful expanse one last time before deciding she’d seen enough. If her gut was telling her this area was a red flag she wasn’t about to ignore it.

Frisk was about to turn and leave when—

“ **H u m a n** ,” Frisk froze in place, her heart starting to hammer like it wanted to burst from her chest. 

She had been alone she was sure of it...human?

The voice spoke again, it’s cadence slow and almost amused sounding. “don’t you know how to greet a new pal?”

Pal?

“turn around and shake my hand.” Slowly Frisk turned, ringing in her ears as her eyes locked on who had called out to her in a baritone so low she could feel it’s vibration practically in her chest.

She had to bite her tongue to keep from gasping in shock. 

It was a skeleton, wearing a sapphire blue cloak with a skeletal hand outstretched, thick phalanges gently curled and, somehow, palm cupped welcomingly. Where eyes would be floated two orbs of white light, faintly bobbing as they locked on her, with a benign grin of wide and pure white teeth.

Despite how friendly and inviting his demeanor looked Frisk noticed his expression seemed disturbingly detached.

Another red flag.

Frisk’s eyes drifted down to the hand he held out. 

His hand wasn’t reaching out pass the ring of mushrooms he stood in. 

Her expression shifted. Hadn’t she heard a legend about mushrooms before? Magic circles given form through nature as a way to warn mortals? 

She swallowed.

“I uh…don’t want to be rude but…I don’t want to?” Her words hung in the air between them, his expression slowly changing as his grin stretched and his hand dropped by his side. 

He let out a lighthearted chuckle.

“smart kid, the handshake routine rarely works but it’s _always_ funny when it does.” Frisk felt the tension leave the air and couldn’t help how she instantly relaxed. The skeleton’s whole persona had flipped like a coin at her rejection, he appeared so casual and easy going.

Like he’d just tried to play a joke on an old friend.

She let out a hesitant smile.

“I’m Frisk…nice to meet you.” The monster raised a skeletal brow, his smile remaining on his face as he observed her silently. The time he took to look at her seemed to stretch to the point Frisk squirmed in place and the intensity he’d been directing at her softened.

He let out a snort. “i’m sans. sans the skeleton.”

Frisk and Sans continued to watch each other, the lights in his skeletal sockets brightening curiously as he tilted his skull. She was an odd child to him. He’d never seen a human with eyes the color of sunlight before. 

It was such a unique feature.

“never seen a human with yellow eyes before.” He commented.

“Never seen a talking skeleton before.” Frisk responded absently.

Sans snorted as he contemplated her, Frisk taking in the situation with a puzzled glance. He wasn’t advancing, making any kind of move to get closer to her from where he sat cross legged and slouching.

He was at least a good inch from the ring’s edge closest to her and that allowed her to conclude that so long as she didn’t cross into the ring of mushrooms she was safe, from what she still questioned.

No one in the village ever elaborated as to why they warned about the rings. No matter how hard she thought about it she couldn’t recall much in the way of conversation about the whole thing.

Was it Sans?

She supposed he looked intimidating, being a skeleton.

She took a sharp breath as she pulled her knees into her chest. Noticing the way his orbs of light followed the movement. 

He certainly was fixated on her though.

“What are you?” Her voice came out slightly raspy. 

Her question hung in the air as Sans flickered his gaze up to her eyes, his sockets lidding as his grin stretched. 

Frisk couldn’t see the humor behind it. 

Something about the way he looked at her was guarded, shaped to give a sense of security and shrewdness like a mask. “i’m a seelie.” 

Frisk blinked. “A what?” 

Sans’s skull flexed, both of his eyebrows raising at her humorously but his carefully constructed expression remained firmly in place. When he spoke his tone was light, curious.

“you don’t know who the seelie are?” How she shook her head had Sans eyeing her suspiciously. Frisk looked at least sixteen, well past the age that she should’ve been told the legends of his race.

Had humanity fallen that out of touch with them already?

“well,” He started as he looked away briefly before looking back at her with a sneaky grin. “i’m a fairy you could say. a fae.” Frisk raised a brow this time.

“I don’t see any wings on your back, and you’re a bit big. Thought you said you were a skeleton.” Sans’s sockets creased along the bottoms as he responded in a lackadaisical tone.

“i’m a special type, i’m _wing_ ing it honestly.” Her expression went closed at first before slowly slipping into measured amusement. It didn’t escape his notice that she almost looked afraid of laughing, cautious of offending him.

Smart girl.

“W-was that a pun?” Frisk asked as she tried to cover her mouth. Sans closed both his sockets full of smug brevity. “dunno, did you find it _pun_ ny?”

Frisk broke into laughter, unable to hold it back and Sans found himself grinning widely.

He liked this human.

“seelies are beings responsible for the magic in your world, the unexplained.” Frisk’s laughter petered out and she looked at him in confusion.

“The unexplained?” Sans lazily gestured around them and all it took was a quick trace of her eyes along the grove for her to understand. Her cheeks turned red as she faced him again.

“Wow, I didn’t know Fae made such beautiful things.” His smile strained, and Frisk tensed at the slight growl in his words. “not all fae do.” 

“All?” She questioned.

Sans’s face was dark, and his tone dropped. “we’re not the same as the unseelie, the dark fae…not exactly.” 

How did she not know this?

Frisk felt her heart race as she swallowed thickly.

“What do you mean dark Fae?” Sans’s eyelights? shrunk slightly and his tone was carefully schooled as he looked at her neutrally.

He hadn’t meant to venture onto this topic but it was too late now.

“we seelie seek out humans to bring to our realm to help with our queens longevity, to strengthen our magical ties to the veil between our realms by unlocking the latent magic of your souls.” Frisk’s eyes widened.

“You turn us into Seelie?” Sans’s eyelights pulsed with something akin to humor.

“do you know what mages are?” She nodded her head and Sans was relieved he didn’t have to explain that to her. Why he was doing this in the first place he didn’t question.

“well that’s what you become. in turn for gaining magical abilities the cost is the world from which you come and your mortal lifespans. our world enables you to live as long as a seelie, and that gives the queen more life herself due to the increase in the potent magic. we have a fair give and take.” 

Sans decided not to mention the cloisters.

“the unseelie…like to consume souls and steal bodies.” 

Frisk felt her skin go clammy.That was something she hadn’t been aware of, something that could happen and no one would be the wiser. It terrified her, but she wanted to know. It didn’t escape her how Sans’s tone lowered though, became almost gentle.

“unseelie at their best just like some fun usually at the expense of others, however that’s rare. they believe that by increasing their own magic themselves they can support the balance of our worlds on their own merits. instead of drawing magic from it’s natural place they make it to where they can unnaturally produce and draw it from themselves. consuming a human soul makes that possible.”

They consumed human souls?

“How?” Sans’s expression didn’t shift but his eyelights dimmed as he took in her reaction.

“your spirit and wills are strong enough to rival our magic when on equal footing. fusing the two together, a human soul with a monster makes…a freak of nature.” Sans’s smile went tired.

“our method, giving humans our magic is more of an evolution for your species not a senseless genocide where one has to sacrifice for the other. plus ours can be…reversed. if ever a mage were to leave our realm for too long their ties to magic would fade, and gradually they’d begin to age again.” 

Frisk was silent and Sans wondered if she would be able to take everything he’d told her. It was a lot to tell a child, and it was more than possible that she was now scared of him. 

But all Frisk did was smile at him.

“I’m glad you’re a seelie.” Sans, confused, lowered his mask back into place. If she were an adult, an educated one, he doubted she’d be saying that. But still he had to know what her reasoning was.

It was unexpected, even unnerving, how relieved she sounded.

“why do you say that?”

“Because I wouldn’t want to be scared of my new friend.” 

Sans was speechless. 

He’d explained the nature of his race and it’s counterpart, told her how his basically kidnaps and steals away their mortal rights, and yet she was still saying something so pure and honest that it hit him right where his soul rested.

She didn’t even know him.

They had _just_ met.

But Frisk so quickly trusted him. Considered him a friend, even when that was a dangerous decision she perhaps shouldn’t make. 

Seelie and Unseelie were different yes, but it was still a fine line between them that could blur. One easily crossed often on accident. 

It made him wonder if she considered them friends so quickly from ignorance, though she looked old enough to know better,...or loneliness.

Was that what had lured her to his grove?

Her honey colored eyes were glowing as she looked at him, and he couldn’t help how his soul thrummed under its gaze. However his eyelights quickly locked on an ugly purple mark on her arm the moment she shifted in place.

His sockets widened.

It was then that Sans realized it was loneliness, that this little girl had never been loved before.

And that woke, unsettled, something in him.

“...i’m glad you’re not scared of me either frisk.” How radiant her joyful laugh lit up her face and echoed around the clearing left him mute. 

The surrounding light dimmed and faint darkness fell like a blanket over them and he peered up to see the budding horizon of the night sky fading in through the groves canopy. 

Sans looked back to Frisk who had followed his gaze and he was speaking before he could think about it too hard.

“it’s late, you should get home. don’t want to get lost do you?” The slight wince on her face nearly made him inwardly frown but he remained outwardly expressionless.

“I don’t really want to.” He forced a smirk.

“sorry kid, but a growing human needs rest.” He held his hand out from where he sat. “going to say goodbye?” 

Frisk looked ready to reach forward, automatic politeness guiding her but pulled back at the last second, her eyes narrowing and nose wiggling in a look of incredulousness. “Hey!”

Sans chuckled and gave a lazy shrug. 

“ _see_ lie i did there did you?” Frisk let out a scoff as she stood and wiped the grass from her clothes. Shyly she looked up at him and Sans cocked another brow inquisitively. 

“Can I come visit again?” He didn’t know how to respond so he said, “sure kid.” 

His eyelights didn’t leave her until she vanished back through the concealment barrier to the grove, his mind wondering just what he’d gotten himself into, and his thoughts drawn to the golden eyed girl with fascination.

Oh well, maybe she wouldn’t come back after she let what he’d told her register. 

Sans was proven wrong the moment he felt a disturbance in his magic the next day.

“hey kid. back so soon?” he held his hand out habitually and her deadpan nearly had him chuckling. 

“So I passed my classes.” He tilted his skull as his hand lowered back into the confines of his cloak. 

“that’s good, which ones?” It shocked him how easily he fell into the conversation. Such a mundane topic when compared to his Seelie knowledge but engaging in how Frisk so eagerly spoke about her rather boring day.

She looked so happy to have someone listening.

It made his soul shiver unpleasantly, in a way he wasn’t familiar with and caused his skeletal brows to furrow. He pushed it down and focused instead on how Frisk’s hands moved so quickly in her excitement, the small limbs emphasizing her words.

“Math and English are my favorite subjects.” Frisk exclaimed with a toothy smile as her hands wrung.

“english huh? my brother likes that subject.” Right away he saw the silent question in her eyes and Frisk perked up as he started to go on a long and drawn out spiel. 

He looked so animated and expressive as he playfully joked and told her embarrassing stories. 

She’d always wanted a sibling.

And she wondered what that would’ve been like.

“Wow Papyrus sounds like so much fun.” Frisk’s voice came out hushed. 

Sans’s sockets crinkled with genuine happiness through his mask, and his voice was brimming with affection that it made Frisk blush.

“ya, he’s the coolest.” She smiled at the clear love in the skeleton fae’s sockets but then she noticed the moment his eyelights brightened, his smile turning mischievous.

“you could meet him y’know.” Her chest warmed at the prospect.

“I could?” Sans closed one socket and held his hand out. 

It made Frisk deadpan. “Let me guess I’d only have to take your hand?” 

He closed both sockets and didn’t reply. His smug silence was answer enough. 

Frisk tried not to let her disappointment show, instead she blew out her cheeks and rested her chin on her knees in a pout, earning a silent snicker from the skeleton.

The kid was cute.

~~

Her visits became a daily thing, three days turned into a week, a week into four, and soon Sans started coming to the gate ahead of her. Waiting patiently but not long until her brunette hair peaked from the path with excited strides.

Sans didn’t know why he kept interacting with her just as Frisk didn’t know why the grove called to her each morning like a siren song.

And each time he’d offer a hand, each time she’d turn him down. 

Frisk’s eyes though never failed to glow with her joy at his presence and his eyelights always expanded happily in his sockets.  
It was as if he gave her the moon each time he showed up to greet her. And he felt his soul start to give a pitiful flutter of platonic affection each time she went right into telling him how her day went.

There were times however where Frisk wouldn’t begin talking right away and Sans, deeply perturbed, a tiny spark of rage boiling in his chest he didn’t want to look too hard at, would grant them both mercy and talk to her about his realm and the magic there.

Entertain her with fanciful tales and stories.

A lot he made up, but Frisk always stared at him with admiration nonetheless, latched onto the tales like a plant craving the smallest drop of water. She loved how he took her awe in stride, made his stories more exaggerated or wild just to see what he could get away with.

But as with all beings who started to care for each other…

The questions came.

“hey frisk?” He tried.

“Yes?”

“where did you get that mark today?” 

She didn’t answer him, only pulled her sleeve or pant leg a little lower to hide whichever one he could be referring to. And she, scared that if he knew how bad she often was to deserve such things, worried that he’d abandon her, and so changed the subject to a question he’d often answered before about magic.

He grudgingly let her, silently wondered when she’d break.

And one night it happened.

Frisk had never gone to the grove at night before, she’d never had a reason to. 

But that night had been…bad. 

She usually sought out Sans’s company after such episodes, a few jokes and his usual attempts to lure her away to his world somehow always made her feel better, but tonight she just wanted to be alone.

But not.

Honestly she didn’t know if Seelie needed sleep but if they did she was willing to at least be in the same place as where her friend always met her. Frisk knew the grove wasn’t his actual home, but to her it’s all she knew him to have. 

And that was enough.

It wasn’t a surprise when she found the ring of mushrooms he usually occupied empty. A group of fireflies tracing along the back of it and into the far off trees. 

The sight of it though relaxed her and she fell into her habitual spot with a muted crunching of grass. Her honey colored eyes locking onto the Seelie gate with fondness.

She was a bit let down even though she’d known better.

Frisk let out a dejected sigh and slowly fell sideways, her knees pulling up to her chest as she let out a shiver in the slightly chilled air. It was a cool night, fall wasn’t that far off. 

Would Sans still be able to visit once winter hit? 

His explanation on the summer and winter courts hadn’t really informed her of that.

Her eyes had started to drift closed in her musings.

“frisk?” 

She jolted awake and sat up, her eyes automatically honing in on the ring before frowning. 

It was still empty. 

She blinked the tiredness from her eyes, when had she fallen asleep? And carefully looked around before pulling up short in surprise.

Sans was a few feet from her, looking at her curiously.

He was outside the circle?

“Sans?” In disbelief she pushed to her feet and froze. 

He was tiny, came up to about the top of her hip. 

Her brows furrowed. 

Frisk was certain he was taller than this, he gave the impression that he was a good five foot at least. Though she’d never seen him standing before the way he typically sat gave her the impression. 

His skull tilted in question. “what are you doing out so late?”

“Why are you small?” She couldn’t help asking. Sans let out a snort.

“i’m in your realm, not enough active magic here for me to be at full height.” Oddly she understood what he meant by that. Then it occurred to her…could Sans take her now that he wasn’t bound by the gate?

 _Was that a bad thing_?

The impulsive thought scared her.

She took a cautious step back, tried to be subtle so as not to be rude but Sans caught it. His eyelights snapped to her feet before going back up to her face. 

It was so weird to see him craning his vertebra to look up at her but strangely adorable. 

“easy kiddo, i can’t take you anywhere right now. it’s only possible during the day, and i can’t just pick you up and go.” His smile was patient and reassuring.

“Why not?” Sans’s smile only turned even friendlier as he heard the uncertainty in her tone.

“remember the veil i mentioned? it’s like a magic curtain between our worlds. during the day it’s weakest on this side of it; meaning no seelie from the seelie realm can roam or exit through the gates but yet others can enter from this side. at night, it’s reversed. you as a human can’t pass through but any other seelie can leave if they choose.” Sans looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging.

“as for why i can’t just pick you up and go, even if the sun were to rise well…that’s one of the rules of intent with magic. if you were to unwillingly pass through, my realm wouldn’t be able to…lock….you into place there. unless you consumed our food or something.” As a side thought he held his arms out and shrugged. “plus obvious height differences heh.”

Frisk looked confused as she ruminated on his words. 

Sans was slightly worried she wouldn’t understand, but there wasn’t a simpler way to explain it without having an inherent touch with magic. 

Still she surprised him as she so often did.

“Magic needs an anchor basically?” His socket’s widened and crinkled at the corners. He looked so proud Frisk couldn’t keep the blush from her face as he nodded. “more or less.” 

Then something Sans would call realization flashed in her eyes and his expression went wide with shock as she suddenly bent down and pulled him up into an unexpected hug, her thicker arms wrapping him in a vice that made him let out a strained grunt as a blue blush flared across his skull. 

“f-frisk!” 

“You’re so cute all tiny Sans!” She gushed as she spun with him on the spot. Sans went to protest, not really one for casual physical contact but went still as a statue as he felt something wet fall onto the crown of his head. 

Frisk didn’t give him room to pull back, her soft cheek pressed into the side of his jaw and left socket as something dangerously close to a sniffle vibrated from her chest. 

His tone was abnormally soft. “what are you doing out so late kiddo?”

Of course she didn’t answer him but he let her hold him for as long as she needed. When she finally gave him room and let him back down her tears were gone but her eyes were bloodshot, smile as bright as usual and eyes happy.

“Want to see my village?” 

He’d seen it countless times already.

“sure.”

~~

Sans and Frisk both grew closer; his nightly roaming visits spent strolling beside her through the quiet of her village, her free hours in the day put towards visiting him within the grove where he was forcibly bound to stay.

They made each other’s lives more interesting, exchanging puns and jokes while steadily learning the cultures and life of the other. 

It was something Sans knew wasn’t supposed to happen. 

Humans and Seelie weren’t meant to be friends like they had become. But every time he contemplated leaving for good, abandoning her, he found himself unable to. There was something about the honey colored eyed girl that drew him to her. 

Only made him more insistent on trying to kidnap her back to his world. 

It left a bitter taste in his mouth that she stubbornly never took the delicate step he needed from her. Even on the worst of days when she’d show up exhausted and on the verge of what his kind called falling down.

The day he finally called her out on it, had addressed it directly Frisk had simply responded as if they’d talked about it countless times before.

“you don’t have to put up with that you know. all you have to do is take my hand and you’d never have to worry about them hurting you again.” His soul twisted as she gave him a weak smile.

“You say your brother thinks of you as lazy but you really do work hard at your job.” Sans bit his tongue. Prevented the unspoken words in his head from slipping out and showing a vulnerability he didn’t wish the kid to see as he simultaneously discovered it himself.

 _you’re not a job to me_.

The topic didn’t come back up.

~~

The day came when he had to go on an assignment the queen had given him; it was to take no more than a week, a quick in and out of the Unseelie realm to monitor the dark fae for signs of treasonous activity. 

But he worried.

Sans was good at being undetectable, it was going to be an all-around easy task.

Still it didn’t prevent the regret he felt at the withdrawal in Frisk’s eyes, the ache he felt in his chest at the sight of her smile falling into a frown when he told her. 

Frisk didn’t want him to go, just the idea of him not being there made her feel hollow.

And he’d honestly thought she’d protest, ask him to stay. But instead she’d merely whispered, “Only a week right?”

He…was proud of her. How in stride she took the news. It was going to be the longest they’d gone without seeing each other since they’d first met but she held her head up and kept her heart hopeful.

His masked smile turned genuine in the way only she so often could make it.

“that’s right, i’ll even come straight here when i’m finished.” 

Frisk’s eyes lit up and it made his soul swell. 

She could manage seven days, she was sure of it.

All it took was her nod of acceptance before he vanished, the urge to end this task quickly burning in his skull.

Sans managed the job in _three_ days.

A Seelie of his word the first thing he did was return to the grove once he left the Unseelie realm, his intentions to reassure his little human before dropping his report back to the Queen. 

When he rose from the gate however the sight that greeted him made his soul freeze in his ribs.

The grove…was wilder, more tangled and unkempt. A blatant passage of time and his absence scarred across it.

And instead of the anticipated human child he’d grown fond of to meet him sat a woman, humming as she twisted some flowers she had gathered beside her into a delicate crown in her callused hands. 

Sans’s eyelights nearly went out. 

He hadn’t intended on having to deal with a human to collect, in fact it irritated him.

Sans had wanted to see Frisk.

With resolve he took a deep steadying breath and put on his practiced grin. He’d simply capture them and then return quickly before he had the chance to be missed.

“ **H u m a n** ,” The female predictably jolted. “don’t you know how to greet a new pal?” 

She whipped around and time slowed as his sockets shot wide, honey colored eyes landing on him and sending an almost crippling pulse of recognition through his magical leylines.

Only one human he’d ever known had that unique distortion. 

Sans’s voice was shaky as he spoke.

“…frisk?”

Tears immediately ran down her cheeks as she smiled at him. 

He didn’t know what to think or say, all he could do was pan her form, take in old scars he recognized on her knees and wrists. Silently acknowledged that she had matured in ways typical to a young human adult in her prime.

The little girl he knew was gone, and in her place was a kind and startlingly attractive woman.

His soul withered even as it heated up violently in his chest.

“One more day, I can wait one more day I said.” Sans was frozen as she turned to fully face him, pulled her now long and elegant legs up into the familiar bend as she rested her chin atop them just as she had in her youth. “Welcome back Sans, I missed you.”

He felt his magic curl, caused a shiver through his bones as he swallowed and rasped thickly, “how long?”

“Three years.” Sans came to learn a day in the Unseelie realm wasn’t so liner as the human world and his realm were. He couldn’t think of what to say to her. Frisk though only continued to smile and did what she so often did, had only done a few days ago to him, and went on about how her day had gone.

How the last three years of her life had gone.

It made Sans acknowledge a harsh reality, and in his panic he interrupted her.

“come back with me.”

Frisk startled, her eyes wide but mouth closed in a firm line. 

They both appraised each other like it was the first time they’d met all over again. Sans taking in how exactly she’d changed, Frisk noticing how he was exactly the same. 

He didn’t want to risk losing her, never seeing her again if he was called to serve once more. She didn’t want to miss out on what life could offer her now that she was free from what she’d gone through as a child.

Frisk’s answer was like a blow straight to his soul.

“No.” 

Sans kept his gaze unreadable as she explained her reasonings, all perfectly understandable and valid for a mortal he acknowledged bitterly, and for the first time he couldn’t bring himself to stay near the human he’d grown so attached to. 

To not feel so unreasonably angry at her rejection.

He left.

Frisk stared in shock at the empty ring, more tears now full of hurt and pain poured out, and she felt so awful at what she’d told him. 

But she waited just as she had done before. 

And when Sans returned, unable to stay away for long, they’d both continued as if nothing had happened. 

~~

His attempts became more ridiculous and endearing the more he tried and failed to lure her back with him as time passed. Frisk found it cute how much he wanted so badly to pull the wool over her eyes, almost hilarious how he worked so hard at it sometimes.

“Are you going to get promoted or something if you ever succeed at this?” She teased.

“nah, better.” Sans winked playfully. “i’ll get to keep you.” 

Her cheeks flushed crimson just as his lit up brilliant cyan at the accidental flirt. They purposefully ignored it, not realizing how both their souls had given a firm thrum in tandem.

It wasn’t hard to quietly admit to themselves that they had fallen for each other the more their blushes grew, the more awkward their chuckling became, and how a certain mood lit up the grove each time they met.

But then--their happiness was threatened.

“Sans!” 

His soul shook, somehow heard the echo of Frisk’s pained cry and sent a bolt of panic through his ribs as he shortcut to the gate from where he’d been with barely a thought. Just managed to peer into her realm as Frisk came running frantically into the grove, and witnessed her feet, bare and cut, giving out and forcing her to fall but a few feet from him.

He didn’t get time to question what was happening.

Sans’s soul was pounding like a drum in his chest, sweat beading on his forehead as he heard the cries of what was unmistakably an Unseelie making their way to her, the bloodcurdling screeching and demented laughter causing nausea to take hold of him as it passed the grove’s barrier.

Frisk was weak as she tried to push to her feet, her muscles strained beyond exhaustion. 

Sans tried to phase outside the ring, struggled to concentrate his magic to break out into her realm but was forcefully refused as he let out a snarl of contempt.

He knew deep down that there would be consequences for their relationship. What decent Unseelie wouldn’t be able to smell the magic of his grove on her being? This had been what he’d feared from the get go other than the imposing laws of his people.

Attachment.

He was more shocked that it had taken this long for the inevitable to happen than the fact it was happening _now_ of all times, with the sun high in the sky and the veil strong and resistant.

Sans could see the Unseelie coming for Frisk, the sick fae having taken her form in a demented play of mental torture. Naturally curled auburn locks turned stringy and greased threads that covered a face born of disgust and hatred. Leaking black socks with crimson eyes and manic grin stretched grotesquely in glee.

His sockets were wide as he fell to his knees. 

If he was outside, if it was night he’d be small and limited but he’d still have enough magic to repel the creature. But he wasn’t and it was coming in fast.

Sans couldn’t let it take Frisk, if it did she…there were worse fates than death for humans in the Unseelie realm. 

Time turned to an agonizing crawl as he locked his pained gaze on the woman he cared about.

Frisk had said she wanted to die in the human world among her kind.

...Never wanted to give up her mortality...

Sans was at a crossroads. 

Down one path was honoring her wishes…but he’d lose her sooner than they both deserved or worse. The other path…was to risk her becoming bitter towards him for the blatant manipulation he’d be forced to use. 

The chance she’d never forgive him for taking away her choice on how she wished to live and die.

His sockets flickered up to the blood stained grin of the corrupted fae, it’s eyes full of malicious intent and all he could think about was how she wouldn’t have a life at all if he didn’t act.

Sans made a choice as he offered out his hand to her.

Frisk glanced up and he could see the realization in her eyes as she reached the same conclusions he had a moment before only there was a silent debate in her golden depths, a struggling to find another way.

And that was what killed him the most.

Down to his bones Sans was a Seelie, full of the potential for corruption and cruel disregard that their dark counter parts thrived in. Sans was willing to use whatever method it took to convince Frisk to give into his selfishness, to alleviate his own fear without thought to any alternatives.

And that part of him burned with a smoldering fury as he embraced the anguish he’d have to cause her.

“frisk take my hand! please!”

He watched her hesitate, witnessed the Unseelie draw closer, and finally said the one thing he knew would break her, the image of her for barely a second overlapped by the young girl he’d met almost a lifetime ago that had opened his soul to emotions and concepts outside of what his race had taught him.

The little girl that had once so foolishly and easily trusted him.

“i love you…” 

It came out barely a whisper so low it shouldn’t even have been heard under the thundering steps and screeching of the beast encroaching. But the sheer amount of honest emotion behind it and the way his face crumbled was enough for Frisk to catch it, feel the declaration innately down to her core. 

The kind and ultimately selfless woman he knew her to be overrode the selfish side of her that wanted more than anything to live a normal life, one that had been so cruelly denied her by the ones that should have loved and cherished her above everything. 

The way Sans had when she’d been nothing but alone and neglected.

He watched as the love he knew she had for him won out and without a thought her hand slid into his. Victorious and thrilled, desperate and terrified Sans managed to pull her in just as the Unseelie lunged for her and missed.

Sans cradled Frisk close to him as she passed out, his eyelight flaring threateningly as the Unseelie froze before the gate with a look so condemning and enraged he couldn’t help but to chuckle darkly at it.

“sup buddy? something _slip_ through your fingers?” The Unseelie roared but Sans was gone before it could finish.

~~

Sans was dutiful and patient as he brushed the hair from Frisk’s forehead, her shut eyes fluttering as she subconsciously leaned into his touch. 

Her hair was softer than he’d imagined, finer. And the way her skin felt beneath his phalanges nearly made a rumble form in his chest. He didn’t want to stop touching her, it was almost unreal that she was here with him now.

In his home, his bed.

With a sigh he brought the cup of water to her lips and lifted her head slightly as he fed it to her. 

It made a confusing mixture of smugness and sorrow coil in his proverbial gut to watch her drink it. To know he was essentially taking another decision from her by offering her Seelie nourishment as she slept. 

The only loophole that allowed humans to leave sealed to her.

But she needed the energy to recover and he allowed the weak reasoning to act as a foundation to his justification. 

Frisk looked so dehydrated and tired. 

How long had that Unseelie chased her before she made it to him? 

“Brother.” Papyrus’s quiet tone drew his attention and right away he knew something was up with how his younger brother’s sockets creased along the bottoms, a hesitance that wasn’t normal resting in them. “Undyne’s here.”

Sans looked down at Frisk a moment before pushing to his feet. “i’ll be back bro.”

~~

“She’s a human Sans! You can’t just keep her!” Undyne shouted incredulously. “She belongs in the cloister with the others! A free roaming mage could be dangerous!” 

Sans ignored her as he looked to their Queen, the King beside her scowling disapprovingly. Undyne had a point but that didn’t mean Sans had to acknowledge it. It was nothing but a possibility, a what if, and he knew Frisk.

She wasn’t like that. Maybe once he would’ve agreed but not now.

Toriel’s ethereal moon speckled eyes locked with his midnight dark sockets.

He was _not_ going to let Frisk be squirreled away to an isolated place of stone and cold shouldered mages. 

Forced to repeat her trauma in an entirely new light. 

This fiercely determined woman who had remained kind and trusting despite her circumstances, who he’d just stolen everything from deserved so much more than that.

His soul wouldn’t allow it.

“every seelie is granted the right to a condition free wish from birth.” The silence was long before their queen spoke, the stares of all other Seelie present in the court boring into his spine with resentment and confusion.

“Are you sure Sans? A Seelie may only request this once.” 

Sans didn’t answer, he didn’t have to.

Toriel simply nodded. 

“Very well then, the human known as Frisk is yours. Just remember, she is still bound to the same rules as the others, she can never leave and any fallout from this wish is yours to bear alone.” 

Sans had never felt so satisfied as he did shooting a smug glance to the passing guard before shortcuting.

The satisfaction didn’t last long.

He hadn’t expected Frisk to be awake when he got back. 

~~

Frisk was so happy she’d finally met Papyrus, he was everything Sans had ever told her and more. His smile did light up a room, made you want to cheer up even when you felt like the world was on your back.

But she wasn’t so thrilled to see where she was, numbly accepted Papyrus’s reassurances and allowed him to seat her and place a plate of food in front of her. 

Frisk didn’t want to be rude but...

Sans watched Frisk hesitate, her hands shaking nervously. It made him feel low, so low because he knew what she was thinking about, what she was trying to do.

“frisk.” She looked up shyly and stilled as she took in Sans’s downcast gaze, the look was enough to fill her growing dread with dark confirmation. 

The guilt radiated off of him and she felt her throat go dry as his normally deep baritone came out even deeper.

“i had to feed you…while you were unconscious.” 

She didn’t respond and it was enough to make Sans look up to see her golden eyes focused on the spaghetti in front of her. Papyrus even looked sad as he ate but he didn’t say anything. Tried to offer them a meek privacy as he downed a glass of milk.

Slowly and numbly Frisk picked up her fork, and the resignation in her expression as she twirled the noodles and slipped them into her mouth killed Sans a little inside. He couldn’t bring himself to look anywhere but his plate.

A faint touch made him tremble. 

His eyelights snapped up and looked over to see her free hand gripping his across the table. He glanced at her cautiously but she kept her vision steadily locked on the food.

Frisk gave his hand a soft but firm squeeze.

His soul wanted to break as he returned it and hesitantly laced his fingers with hers.

A blush just as vibrant as the first one she’d ever given him broke across her face and that was enough to reassure him. Sans had begun to eat again when Frisk finally spared him a glance. Her smile weak but there. 

Frisk’s love for him hadn’t changed.

And Frisk...

She supposed…at least she had him and that was enough.

~~

It was later, a few nights after she’d been told everything that Sans found her sitting on the front steps of their home. The glow from the red moon turning her golden eyes rosy as she stared up at it with a hard to gauge expression.

He hadn’t taken but a few steps when she spoke up, her words halting him and coming out shy.

“Did you mean it?” 

Sans narrowed his sockets and looked down at his feet. “yeah.” 

Frisk didn’t say anything so Sans took the initiative and walked forward to sit next to her, his cloak falling and engulfing his form as he looked up at the moon next to her. He felt a pit of anxiety in his ribs, a sorrow at how everything had gone down for her to end up here but not an ounce of regret. 

He jolted but quickly stilled at the feeling of Frisk leaning against him.

She felt melancholic. A bit disappointed but still she let out a weak chuckle.

“You couldn’t have said you loved me before I almost ended up kidnapped?” Despite himself Sans smiled.

“nah, that would’ve been what normal people do.” Frisk tilted her head over to him curiously.

“I’m not normal?” She sounded so vulnerable and fragile that Sans sucked in a harsh breath. Gently he raised a hand and ran his phalanges through her hair, the feeling so much more satisfying than it’d been when he was small in her world and did it the first time.

“you’re special frisk. at least to me, i wouldn’t trade you for anything.” Frisk looked down and closed her eyes, enjoyed the soothing petting of her head as she let out a thoughtful hum. Slowly she pulled back and stared at him in a way that left Sans’s soul beating furiously into his bones.

“Kiss me?” 

His sockets went wide, his eyelights swelling in size that they nearly took up the dark voids they rested in. He swallowed around nothing and cupped her face, his hands exceedingly gentle as he smiled with all the affection he had for her.

“i love you.” He repeated, this time long and low with his passion. Frisk’s cheeks turned scarlet and her pale lips curved into a heartfelt smile as her hands came up to cover his.

“I love you too.” Slowly Sans leaned in, gave her time to pull back if she wanted and hesitated only a moment more before pressing his mouth to hers, The bony ridges that lined his teeth folding down like lips to lock with her soft and supple ones.

Frisk’s eyes slid closed as a burst of heat shot down to her toes and suddenly she yelped into the kiss as gravity left her. Still holding contact her eyes widened as she glanced down to see they were floating, a beguiling bright glow coming from beneath Sans’s cloak that fluttered around them from the night air.

Sans chuckled from the surprise he felt rolling off of her and pulled her more securely against him before letting the kiss break, his forehead touching hers as his bright eyelights hazed and wobbled precariously.

“sorry, could say you really swept me _off my feet_.” Frisk snorted with a playful roll of her eyes.

“An eternity of puns, oh no, whatever will I do?” He pressed his teeth in a chaste kiss to her forehead.

“just go with the _float_.” Frisk chuckled and the both of them looked up at the moon. Perfect contentment and healing already settling in their souls as they held each other.


	7. Valentine's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Female Frisk  
> AU: Quantumtale
> 
> IT'S OVER NUUUUUU T_T
> 
> WELL HAVE SOME PUPPY FLUFF TO FINISH IT OFF
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read and commented, this year was fun! :P  
> And hopefully next year will be too <3

Sans was frozen and his feet were sweaty.

He really disliked sweaty feet, even if it was magic.

Slowly his eyelights panned up the length of the suddenly too tall door in front of him until they rested on the door bell, slightly off to the side and a bit higher than the handle. 

He stared at it.

His hand wouldn’t move.

All it would take was a small bend of his elbow, a slight lift of his wrist.

Why couldn’t he bring himself to just press the darn thing?

He swallowed nervously as he tried to will away some of the magic burning in his face, temper down the blush that cast a brilliant glow against the wooden barrier in front of him and reflected his flustered expression back at him almost mockingly.

It wasn’t like this was the first time he’d come to visit Frisk.

But it was certainly the first time he’d brought her something for _Valentine’s Day_.

Sure it was just a plain box of chocolates, nothing really special, but the mere fact he was standing outside her door and feeling his soul thunder furiously in his ribs made it feel as if he was asking her out on a date or something.

That wasn’t his goal...he didn’t want to...ask her out…

Frisk just looked as if she’d had a bad week and he thought that she’d like the gift. 

Girls liked sweets right?

And if she was grateful, if she...gave him a kiss like she so often did casually it was no proverbial skin off his nose. It wouldn’t be different from all the other random pecks of platonic affection she’d given him.

...Sans already felt the spot she usually kissed him on his cheek burning…

He ran a hand over his skull and exhaled a thick and calming breath before raising his hand to the bell, poking his finger out and...stopping a hair's width from it.

He furrowed his skeletal brows and tried to press forward but his arm simply started to shake, his expression glowing brighter and brighter the longer he lingered until he let out a groan and turned away from it.

Sans blamed Asgore for this. 

The little prince had teased him so relentlessly at the gift shop when he’d spotted him that it had torn clean through the casualness Sans had felt at the whole thing. Even now if he focused too long on the thought he could still hear Asgore calling Frisk his _sweetheart_ and going on about how _cute_ they’d look together. 

He knew Asgore was just doing what he usually did, trying to encourage him to ‘date’ someone so he could make a move for Tori. Not that he blamed him, Tori was cute for a goat but still did he have to turn something that had been innocent into...whatever this was??

Sans looked to the front lawn and contemplated leaving the chocolates in Frisk’s mailbox only to frown. She would probably feel bad if he did that, wonder why someone would get her a valentine’s treat but not willingly face her for it. 

That was the _opposite_ of what he wanted. 

Before he could think of a solution that would simultaneously work in his favor and preserve his dignity the sound of the front door opening made him stiffen, made his soul give a furious thrum as a tense sense of anxiety shot along his spine.

Dang it.

“Sans?” He bristled, the goggles on his forehead slipping over his sockets as he spun on the spot to face an inquisitive looking Frisk. He grinned and opened his mouth to greet her, already thinking of a funny joke, but nothing came out.

They both stood there looking at each other while Sans’s mouth hung open dumbly.

“...Uh...Hi Sans. What brings you over?” Frisk asked as she let out a playful smile. His mouth snapped shut and he ran a hand over the back of his skull, his mind scrambling for coherence as he kept the chocolates tucked behind his back.

“i wanted to...see how you were doing! heard you had a bad week.” At the sound of her chuckle he instantly relaxed. He managed to get the truth out so that was progress. Until she blinked her eyes open wide enough that he caught the barest glimpse of her honey colored irises.

Sans didn’t know his blush could reach down to his toes. 

“That’s really nice of you! Why didn’t you just come in though? You never hang around the front door for fifteen minutes.” His white skull went even paler.

“y-you saw that?” She gave a sneaky toothy grin.

“Yup, watched you from the window.” Sans’s eyelights shrunk in embarrassment.

Rewind, he needed a rewind!

He was so busy panicking, moments from using his magic, that he missed Frisk stepping forward and quickly ducking around him to snatch the box hidden behind his back. His mind stalled all together as she looked down at it.

A blush, deep crimson and red as a cherry slowly spread over her cheeks and the bridge of her nose as she looked up at him shyly. 

Uh oh.

“i-it’s a feel better gift! i was told girls like sugar!” He hurried to explain as his eyelights wobbled. Frisk hummed as she looked back down at the heart shaped box, her narrowed eyes closing completely as she looked back up at him.

“We do.” Something in the way Frisk said it had Sans freezing but she simply continued. “I find it funny you got me a heart box...when there’s plenty of regular ones you could’ve gotten.”

Today just wasn’t his day now she was teasing him just as Asgore had done.

“it was the only one that had tons of flavors.” He grumbled defensively. 

Frisk let out a snort as she shook her head, her hands already working to open it as she shut the front door behind her and took a seat on the porch step. 

Sans watched her a moment before taking a seat next to her, his skull still stained blue and eyelights tiny as he took in the easy and graceful way Frisk unwrapped the plastic in one fluid motion. If it had been him it would have taken him a bit more effort to open it.

And maybe a partially smashed box.

Frisk looked as if she was being careful with it, mindful as she popped the lid.

“you trying to save it or something?” Sans asked with a chuckle that quickly cut off into a half choke with how red Frisk turned. “i mean if you want to that’s cool--”

“No one’s ever gotten me a valentine before.” He stopped short. 

As her words sunk in he felt himself frown. No one had ever gotten her a valentine? Sans had received a few through the years but he’d never really cared too much about the holiday so he’d never put thought into what it was like for someone _not_ to receive a gift.

“didn’t monster kid have a crush on you?” Frisk gave a shrug.

“He always had someone special to spend the holiday with.” She didn’t look disappointed about it simply nonchalant as she lifted the lid and peered at the cheat sheet. 

Sans didn’t know how to respond.

“Which flavor do you want?” Frisk asked as she scooted noticeably closer to him, his eyelights nearly going out as she leaned into his side and held the flavor chart for him to glance at. Sans blinked until his vision returned and swallowed before randomly naming coconut.

He didn’t even like coconut.

Humming Frisk sat the lid down before pulling out the chocolate he’d picked and held it up to his teeth. Sans looked at her with a flustered deadpan but slowly cracked his teeth open and let her toss it into his mouth before she reached down for one for herself.

He was quicker however and managed to yoink the one she aimed for before her.

Frisk leaned away from him to shoot him a betrayed look but Sans only snickered, “say aw.” 

Her eyes opened nearly as wide as his sockets but he wasn’t about to let her use the rarely seen sun colored gaze to distract him as he let out a playful huff.

“you can feed me i can do it back, fair’s fair.” Frisk’s nose wrinkled cutely but she opened her mouth just as dully as he had, tried not to raise a brow at how he smirked and flipped the chocolate in like how he flipped a coin. 

The fact he managed not to miss impressed her despite herself. 

“Nice shot.” She complimented earning a false bow from the skeleton.

It was when the box was empty and both their teeth had begun to hurt that Frisk finally looked over at him with a soft smile, her whole demeanor more relaxed than when she’d come out to greet him. “Thanks Sans.” 

“no problem!” He chuckled as he flipped his last piece into his mouth and chewed. “glad you liked it.” 

Frisk quietly looked down at her feet before slowly looking back at him, watching as he lounged with his legs stretched out and smile content as he looked up at the clouds. 

Sans was so kind to her sometimes she wondered often what she’d done to deserve it.

“Sans?” He hummed as he looked over to her and felt his whole world stop as she suddenly pressed a chaste kiss to his nasal ridge. 

Frisk...kissed him.

Somewhere not on the cheek too…

The newness of the familiar gesture made the feeling it gave ten times more intense, his soul thrumming rapidly as it sent warming jolts down to his phalanx tips, and his eyelights shifted instantly into inverted hearts as his smile wavered.

When Frisk pulled back she couldn’t help snickering at the gratified sigh Sans inadvertently let out.

Frisk liked sweets, Sans liked kisses.

She was going to remember that.

“Happy Valentine’s Sans.” His eyelights stayed strong and stubbornly changed as he looked at her and repeated the words back to her on a happy whisper.

“happy valentine’s frisk.”


End file.
